1972 VW Beetle Stripdown Continues



As the stripdown continued it was clear to see it wasn't going to be a 3 year job as was originally planned. A year to strip down, a year to fix the body and then a third year to re-spray and re-build. How naïve? The year to strip down was fairly easy to keep on track, but then life started to get in the way, with baby's, house moves, jobs etc.

Deck lid removed & engine out shows the extent of previous repairs and wiring.

It's probably the original wiring of the car, so it was destined to be taken out and replaced with a new wiring loom. I detest electrics at the best of times - a box full of wires and stuff going on that you can't see! The last thing I anted toward the end of the project was to be chasing bad earth's, loose wires and bad connections. Oh no.




Wiring loom destined to be replaced. I'm sure the red/white wire isn't original!

Ahhhh, the good old voltage regulator. I remember when I was driving around in it for the first time round this little beauty used to provide a handful of headaches once in a while. Wiring diagram made - and probably lost!




Voltage regulator, looks comparatively new to the rest of the car.

One of the brackets for the deck lid in its original racing green colour. I grew sick of this colour the first time around, but clearly some still remains to this day, over 20 years on!


Deck lid bracket in original British Racing Green colouring.

Under the bonnet and wheel well looked pretty sound to others that I've seen in books and magazines. It's normally an area prone to corrosion and rotting. I think the strut mounting area will be getting some attention.



Under bonnet and wheel well area in pretty good nic.

As I kept going taking parts away and discovering more areas that I wasn't happy with, the project grew arms and legs. I'm wanting to spend some time showing the car around the UK at a few VW events, so nothing short of perfection is the standard that I'm working for.

After various youtube videos and a few magazine articles, I made the brave decision...........Bessie was to be separated! I need to get the floor and chassis out make sure it's rust proofed and in sound condition. After all it's going to get passed down in the family!

See how the separation went in the post!

Ziggy